I am proud of my wild fish friendly brethren. We showed up in large numbers to say no to the killing of wild coastal cutthroat trout and no to the killing killing of wild North Umpqua winter steelhead!
We showed up to say no to bait on portions of the legendary Rogue river. We spoke united with one common message.
Wild salmon, trout and steelhead are too valuable to kill. One gentleman from Roseburg so eloquently stated it like this. "We will never look back and say we should have killed more fish"
How true!
Of course there were those that blow their own horn and talk about how much they care about wild and "spiritual" fish. The owner of the largest sports angling website in the Pacific Northwest was, once again, a no show. She talks the talk but never walks the walk.
There were groups that at one time in Pacific Northwest history played a large part in protecting wild fish. Sadly this group is a shadow of it's former self and cowers from the conservation battles it once revelled in.
I am proud to be a member of Native Fish Society and a new lifetime member of Trout Unlimited.
I call NFS director Bill Bakke a friend and TU director Tom Wolf a friend. These two "warriors" have battled for many years in the arena of conservation and I give them all the plaudits that they so richly deserve.
I also thank the foot soldiers, who through their solitary efforts, have made a difference.
I would invite you to check out these two groups that are linked in the Friends of The Quiet Pool list on the left hand side of this blog.
So friends if you are not involved in the fight for wild fish then why not get involved? You don't have to be a big mouth, pain in the ass to ODFW, like me but your quiet support will go a long way towards the betterment of our precious wild resource.
The fight is far from over but today showed that a united group of wild fish advocates can get their message across.
Tight lines!
Every little bit helps.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Steve
Steve Dobson's Fisherman's Blog